


Put Your Fate in Your Hands

by EmpressOfEdge



Series: Bumbleby Week 2020 [4]
Category: RWBY
Genre: AU, Action/Adventure, Bumbleby Week 2020 (RWBY), Cause I'm a nerd, F/F, Fluff, Light Angst, dungeons & dragons AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-06
Updated: 2020-06-06
Packaged: 2021-03-04 04:55:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,338
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24568072
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EmpressOfEdge/pseuds/EmpressOfEdge
Summary: Day 4 - AUBlake uses the tools in her hands skillfully, fingers nimble and quick as she easily slides the tumblers into place one after another, like she’s done a million times before. The steady clink, clink, clink, music to her ears.“You have it yet?” Yang asks quietly, leaning casually against the wall, her staff tucked against the crook of her arm.They’d only known each other for a little over a month, but one thing Blake quickly learned about Yang was that she’s comfortable anywhere. Even in the darkest parts of House Schnee, picking a lock to get up into the estate.
Relationships: Blake Belladonna/Yang Xiao Long
Series: Bumbleby Week 2020 [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1770373
Comments: 31
Kudos: 150





	Put Your Fate in Your Hands

**Author's Note:**

> I'm a NERD and I'm PROUD. Also I'm well aware I'm late on the prompts lol ah well?
> 
> Artwork by the amazing whisperingdrawings on tumblr!

Blake uses the tools in her hands skillfully, fingers nimble and quick as she easily slides the tumblers into place one after another, like she’s done a million times before. The steady _clink, clink, clink,_ music to her ears.

“You have it yet?” Yang asks quietly, leaning casually against the wall, her staff tucked against the crook of her arm.

They’d only known each other for a little over a month, but one thing Blake quickly learned about Yang was that she’s comfortable anywhere. Even in the darkest parts of House Schnee, picking a lock to get up into the estate.

Blake raises an eyebrow, speaking around one of her lockpicking tools she has secured between her teeth. “Not quite,” she says, slightly irritated, “would you like to give it a try?”

Yang’s face scrunches up as she looks at the door. “Unless you want me to punch it down? No.”

Blake smirks, letting out a short huff of a laugh as she turns her attention back towards the door. “That might give us away,” she says. Blake glances back over at Yang out of the corner of her eye, taking in the bright yellows and oranges that make up Yang’s robes. “Speaking of,” she takes the pick out from between her teeth, gesturing to Yang, “do you have some other clothes you could put on? You’re not exactly dressed for stealth.”

Yang looks down at her outfit and Blake allows herself to take another look. The outfit may be loud, but it showcases Yang’s strengths. Especially her arms and abs, which are left on display from where the loose wrappings come to a stop. She knows she shouldn’t, because her experience with relationships is spotty at best, and Yang has spent most of her life within the monastery, but…

Blake looks up again to find Yang smirking. She grips the top of her staff with one hand, turning her arm in a way that somehow flexes every muscle perfectly as she says, “Trying to get me out of my clothes?”

If she had a better poker face, Blake would’ve been able to hide the blush; but Ilia always said she was shit at cards and now she wishes she’d have taken her up on those lessons. She looks away, refocusing her attention on the locked door. “No.”

“Oh _god_. Honestly, you two have been insufferable to travel with.”

“It… it has been a bit much.”

Blake doesn’t bother to look back at the other two members of their little party, honestly having forgotten they were even there. Though she feels a little worse for Ruby than she does for Weiss. She imagines having to suffer through watching your sister hit on random women in such a fashion can wear on you.

And judging by her personal experiences with Yang, she figures it must be often

“Unless you still have a key to your little palace here, princess,” Blake says, “I suggest we don’t irritate the woman with the lockpicks.”

She hears the sigh from the disgruntled woman behind her. “Honestly, screw stealth,” Weiss says. “If my father wants to have his guards attack us, so be it.”

“Uh, yeah… I’m not so sure that’s a great idea,” Yang says, lounging back against the doorframe. Gentle waves of incense waft over Blake as she settles there, smelling of spice and citrus, and Blake feels the pin get jammed in the wrong spot.

“ _Fuck.”_ It takes her a second to realize that all eyes are on her, but when she does, she shrugs. “It happens.”

The rest seem to take it as an answer, Weiss simply rolling her eyes before arguing with Yang about the sanity of letting her father see them. But Blake chides herself. She should _know better._ Getting involved with people you work with is never a good idea. There’s passion and adrenaline, sure, but it can also blind you. Make you do things that maybe you don’t believe in. Blake lost herself once, she wasn’t going to do it again.

_Clink, clink, clink._

After all, she shouldn’t even be _thinking_ like this. It had barely been a month. A _month._ She’d known Adam for years.

_Clink, clink, clink._

She scoffs internally; a lot of good _that_ did her.

_Clink, clink._

But Yang is…

_CLICK._

Blake grins, everyone else falling silent as she looks up at them. “So? What’s the plan?”

Weiss and Yang look at each other, both stubborn in their opinions if their glares have anything to say. Finally, after an excruciating wait, Ruby finally speaks up.

“I think stealth is better than going into a _manor_ full of _guards_ with weapons drawn.”

Weiss looks slightly displeased at the fact she won’t get to march into her old home in a full-frontal assault, but ultimately concedes, sheathing her rapier and dispelling her shield. Blake’s still a little baffled by the shield Weiss possesses. While she’s seen her fair share of magic, harboring a little herself, she’s never seen something quite as unique as Weiss’s shield; glyph-like and magically connected to her arm, to her _being_ even. Only to be waved away as if it’s nothing.

Blake shakes it off, twisting the lock to open the door, and they’re in.

As they make their way through the Schnee estate, Blake and Yang sticking to the shadows while Ruby and Weiss play guard, Blake quickly notices that – despite her jeering – Yang actually can be quite quiet. It’s almost a dance, how she skips across the tile floors without so much as a sound, and Blake could swear that – sometimes – her feet don’t ever really touch the ground. She’s seen Yang’s ability to control fire on occasion, and can’t help but wonder if perhaps other elements are on her side as well.

They’re nearing the staircase to the second floor when a different patrol starts marching through the hallway and Blake’s too distracted by watching Yang’s footwork and trying to ignore the pounding of her heart to notice. The only reason she _does_ notice is because an arm slips around her waist at the last second. A strong but gentle grasp reeling her into an alcove and she feels her face flush as Yang’s body presses against hers. She’s quick to try and ignore it, rubbing the bit of fleece attached at her hip instead and throwing an illusionary wall up in the front of the alcove.

She closes her eyes as the darkness consumes them, because she doesn’t trust herself not to stare when she knows Yang can’t see her, but she realizes this is no better. The darkness amplifying her other senses as her nose picks up that scent of spices and citrus again, her ears hear Yang’s shallow breaths, the beating of her heart, and the fingertips of her free hand brush over soft skin and solid muscle.

It’s _a lot_ , and Blake finds herself blinking her eyes open to stop the overwhelming amount of sensations. But even in the darkness, with her eyes wide and wild, Yang is beautiful, Blake thinks. She wonders briefly what led Yang to this walk of life. What made her interested in rights and politics. She wonders what she’s really after… if maybe she could help her find it. Blake thinks she’d like that, to help someone like Yang. Someone whose proven herself to be kind-hearted and loyal. A protector willing to throw herself in harm’s way for an ally; even one she’s known little more than a month.

Even one like Blake, who’s done so much wrong.

“I think they’ve passed,” Yang whispers in the space between them, and Blake can feel the pass of her breath across her lips. She wonders if Yang really doesn’t notice how close they are. Wonders if all the flirting and glances have only been skin-deep like she fears. Wonders if maybe it could run deeper than that.

She bites her tongue. Now is _not_ the time, and the fact these not-feelings are affecting their current mission shows that this is a bad idea. That _Yang_ is a bad idea.

“Blake?” Yang’s voice is gentle, less urgent than it was a moment ago and Blake blinks back to the moment a little confused.

“Yeah?” She whispers back, and she thinks now Yang might understand because her breath catches and she sees her eyes go just a little wider before she composes herself.

“You okay?”

The question takes Blake off-guard. With Adam, any hesitation was met with command or harsh words meant to belittle. Never gentle questions to check in. So, it takes her a moment to answer. “I… yeah.”

“You sure?”

Blake shakes her head to clear it. “Yeah,” she says again, more sure.

Yang nods. “Good,” she says. “Now, as much as I’d love to stay here and do our whole ‘seven minutes in heaven’ routine, I think maybe we should get on with the job first.”

Blake’s unsure if Yang knows she can see her wink, but she does it to punctuate the sentence and Blake finds herself biting back a smile. She takes a deep breath. “Right.”

Dropping the illusion and blinking their way back into the light, they make quick work of tracking down Weiss and Ruby to the office of Jacques Schnee.

“It’s late,” Weiss says. “My father is usually getting his much needed ‘beauty sleep’ right now, but we should still hurry.” She shifts a little uncomfortably. “I really hate it here.”

Blake nods. “Okay, watch my back and I’ll get the lock.”

She’s quicker this time. The lock to the office far less complex than the one to the basement entrance and she slips inside with Yang on her heels.

Right before they disappear behind the door, Weiss says, “You know what we need. Let us know if anything goes wrong.”

Blake smirks. “Feel like I should be saying that to you.”

She can’t tell as easily with the helmet on, but she’s fairly certain Weiss rolls her eyes before letting the door fall closed behind them.

And then it’s just her and Yang and Jacques _fucking_ Schnee’s study. She used to dream about being here, but in very different circumstances. Far more deadly ones that she doesn’t care to think about now; not with Yang by her side and Weiss on the other side of the door.

“I’ll take this side; you take that side?” Yang asks, pointing in different parts of the study.

Blake nods. “Sure.”

Jacque’s study is the definition of “over compensating” Blake thinks as she scans it over.

Huge self portrait? Check.

Shiny suit of armor? Check.

Fancy liquor in a decanter? Check. Blake also makes a note to maybe try and swipe that on their way out. A nice treat for their victory.

When she finally makes it over to the overly ornate desk, she’s careful as she prods around, checking for tripwires and springs wherever she thinks they might be, taking time to help make sure Yang’s area is secure too. Which is why after a few minutes of searching, when Yang holds up a few files of documents with a successful grin, she’s _insanely_ pissed that the decorative suit of armor right behind her _just moved._

Yang must see the way Blake’s body tenses, or hear the clamoring of the armor coming to life because her eyes go wide right before she ducks down, out of the way of its swipe. It takes another strike at her, this time its metal leg grinding down to try to sweep Yang’s feet out from under her, but she’s quick, _so quick_ as she leaps deftly into the air, flipping over the top of the armor set and landing behind it, pocketing the documents before striking out at its back.

They’ve been in a few fights together by now, but Blake’s still always a little enamored with how Yang fights; utilizing magic and power in a way that’s so beautiful it’s more of an artform than a fighting style.

But as Yang extends her arm out, punching into the back of the armor and admitting a fiery blast from her knuckles that lights it on fire and sends it stumbling forward, there’s no denying the damage she can do.

Blake takes the opportunity Yang opened up to send a dagger flying at the armor, somewhat surprised with the way it embeds itself between the plating, as if there were actually someone in there taking the blow. The complete lack of emotional response makes it clear it’s an enchantment, however, so Blake feels a little better knowing she won’t have to shed any blood here tonight.

The suit swings on Yang again and this time she isn’t fast enough, taking the blow directly to her face and Blake can see the little trickle of blood come down from the cut above Yang’s eye. Her hands instantly drop to her swords, drawing both and muttering a few words under her breath as she feels her magic shift around her, allowing her to close the gap between herself and the suit of armor in a second. She reappears in a cloud of mist and drives one of her blades through the armor’s defenses, her second strike coming down into a glancing blow that does little more than shoot some sparks off of the metal.

“ _Duck._ ” She hears Yang bark the word from behind their enemy and instantly drops low, slashing at its legs as she looks up and sees Yang unleashing a flurry of blows onto the back of the suit, fire spitting out of each of her hits.

As the suit of armor begins to give under Yang’s relentless pace, Blake rolls out of the way, kneeling with blades still ready but stunned silent as she watches the suit collapse to the floor and dissipate into ash, smoke, and whatever faint magical enchantment kept it tethered here.

There’s a moment of silence that fills the room in the aftermath and Blake finds herself staring. Yang’s arms, shoulders, and abs are all still flexed from the adrenaline. Her eyes are a little wild. Hair starting to slip from its high ponytail. She can still see the little trail of blood that trickles down from above Yang’s eye and she finally shakes herself out of it enough to stand and sheathe her weapons.

The movement catches Yang’s attention and Blake can’t help but notice how her expression softens, her shoulders relax, her body turns in her direction. “You alright?” Yang asks and Blake raises an eyebrow.

“I’m not the one with a gash on my head,” she says, walking over to Yang as she digs in the pouch attached to her hip. She finds some cloth she keeps there and uncaps her waterskin, dousing the cloth in cool water before bringing it to the cut on Yang’s brow. Yang recoils for a moment, the cloth against the open wound less than pleasant, Blake assumes, but she settles into it easily.

It’s still for another moment, Blake gently dabbing at the cut and Yang looking at her. Gods she can _feel_ Yang looking at her. _Just_ looking. And it’s doing more to her than it has any right to do.

She pulls the cloth away to break whatever the hell that just was and is relieved to see that the cut really isn’t as bad as the amount of blood made it look. With Yang’s safety secured, Blake’s mind finally moves onto the fact that they should _really_ get out of here.

“That’ll probably alert someone,” she says, pocketing the cloth again and gesturing vaguely in the direction of the charred ground.

It takes a second for Yang to respond as she shakes herself out of her own trance and then she nods. “Right. Yeah. Right.”

As they start to make their way for the door Blake stops. “Oh!” She runs back a few steps, plucking the fancy decanter from the table and waving it in the air with a smirk. “We’re celebrating tonight.”

Yang smirks back. “Still have to escape, Belladonna.”

Blake shrugs, sauntering past Yang and cracking the door open. “Better keep up, then.”

Their escape is slightly more eventful than their entry, but Blake’s glad it ended well. No real bloodshed. One hundred percent improvement over Adam’s missions, Blake can’t help but think.

Yang sits next to her by the side of the river where they set up camp for the night and Blake mentally edits: One hundred and fifty percent improvement. She takes another swig of the brandy she swiped from the Schnee’s study and sighs. She knows she shouldn’t drink it. That she’s probably going to end up saying something stupid. But damn it’s good and damn she’s lonely and – she looks over at Yang, staring thoughtfully at the night sky full of stars, the dim moonlight giving way to the galaxies tonight and… damn she is beautiful.

She’s drawn out of her staring by Yang taking a deep breath and Blake takes another sip of liquor just to make herself feel busy. “I—I was thinking about what Weiss and Ruby said,” she starts, “y’know e-earlier.”

Blake squints at her, trying to place what she might be talking about, and a blush colors Yang’s cheeks as she meets Blake’s eye and then quickly looks away, studying her hands. She clears her throat. “About… about us being a little… ‘much.’”

Blake knows she should probably say something but she’s just a little shocked. It wasn’t something she expected to weigh on Yang’s mind and she wonders why it has. Just as she’s about to ask as much, Yang continues.

“I just… if you want me to back off, I will. I promise. But I…” Yang’s brow furrows, her hands clasping together. “I… don’t want you to think I’m just… flirting to flirt. I… like you.”

“You barely know me.”

“But I’d like to.” Yang’s response is so seamless, Blake wonders how much she’s thought about this over the past weeks. Yang sighs again. “I know we have a lot to learn about each other. So, let me just start by saying that… romantic relationships of any kind weren’t really a ‘thing’ in the monastery. So… I wouldn’t just… y’know…”

Blake blinks at her. She wants to believe it. That Yang could simply just… have a crush on her. _Like_ her. That they might be able to have… something. But another part of her remembers before. How she let herself fall, fast and hard. And all it did was hurt.

“Fuck.” Yang groans. “I’m… I’m doing this wrong, aren’t I?”

_But this is Yang. This isn’t Adam._

“No,” Blake says, finally. She plays with the bottle in her hands for a moment, watching the dark liquid swirl around in the crystal. “You’re… you’re doing everything right.” Blake takes one last swig of the brandy before looking back up at Yang, eyes apologetic. “But I’m just…” she sighs.

“You’re not ready,” Yang says. It’s a statement, and Blake nods. “Well,” Yang says, taking a deep breath, “I’m… not going anywhere. So, this… whatever it might be? If—if you ever want it to be anything?” She looks Blake in the eyes and Blake feels her heart skip a beat with the care there. The trust. “It’s all on your terms, okay?”

Blake looks at her, for a moment, outlined by the faint shine of stars and moonlight. And the slightly tipsy part of Blake wants to kiss her. But luckily, she finds a little more self-control than that. Thinking about what Yang said. What this means for _her._ That Blake would probably be her first… well, everything.

And if Yang is willing to give so much…

And if Blake’s heart is about to jump out of her chest…

Blake nods, letting her one hand snake through the grass until her fingers find Yang’s and they intertwine. It’s sweet, and innocent, and nothing like she’s experienced at the start of a potential relationship.

And she loves it.

“Okay.”

Yang smiles, nods, “Okay.”

**Author's Note:**

> Hope y'all enjoyed! This was a lot of fun to write lol Please feel free to drop comments/ kudos if you liked. Or if you want to provide feedback, I'm always open to that as well!
> 
> For those that're curious, these were the classes I used for each of the characters (even if I didn't showcase Ruby):
> 
> Yang - Monk  
> Blake - Rogue  
> Weiss - Paladin  
> Ruby - Fighter
> 
> And I hope you have a great day/ night! Now I'mma pass out cause it's 3:18 lol (how many times will I end my notes that way? The world may never know.)
> 
> tumblr: empressofedge


End file.
